Ornamental bottle seal and method



Dec. 9, 1958 E. w. OWENS oaumum. BOTTLE, SEAL AND METHOD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 28, 1955 INVENTOR: EDWARD W OWENS Dec. 9, 1 958 E. w. OWENS 2,363,582

ORNAMENTAL BOTTLE SEAL AND METHOD Filed June 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 8

INVENTOR: EDWARD W. OWENS AT T 'YS United States Patent ORNAMENTAL BOTTLE SEAL AND METHOD Edward W. Owens, Muscatine, Iowa, assignor to The Celon Company, Madison, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsm Application June 28, 1955, Serial No. 518,527

2 Claims. (Cl. 21538) This invention relates to a shrinkable seal, such as a band or a cap and to a method for the manufacture of such shrinkable seals for use on containers such as bottles. More particularly, the invention relates to shrinkable bands and caps for bottles carrying an indiciabearing label, such as a Government tax stamp, over the bottle closure, and to improvements directed to enhancing the appearance of the said seal as well as the bottle neck, and to the process or method of applying it.

Packaging of alcoholic liquors, such as wines, whiskeys, etc., in bottles, often requires aflixing identifying labels. In many cases it is necessary that a Government tax stamp be applied over the bottle mouth or adjacent thereto. Government liquor stamps usually are in the form of a narrow strip which is adapted to be adhesively attached to the closure and to extend over the top of the bottle seal and extend downwardly from each side of the bottle neck. The stamp must be affixed in a manner that the entire stamp be visible, also that the bottle cannot be opened without mutilation of the stamp.

In actual practice a shrinkable seal. in the form of a cap or band of the so-called viscose type is placed over the bottle closure. The seal may be made opaque or it may be treated to render it opaque, and where placed over the stamp or label it will hold it in place and efiectively seal the container. A seal of the full opaque type, however, will obscure a part of the stamp in violation of certain regulations of the Government.

The present invention relates specifically to that type of shrinkable seal which is either wholly transparent, or at least provided with a transparent portion, so that when the seal is applied properly over the mouth of a bottle, and the seal carries indicia in the form of a design or lettering, the indicia will be legible in its entirety.

It has been the aim of seal manufacturers for a considerable length of time to produce a bottle seal having real bright and shiny lettering or other indicia thereon. In some instances, a pigment material has been mixed with the viscose in an attempt to produce a bright and shiny seal. In still other instances, attempts have been made to print by means of gold leaf directly onto the viscose seal. The latter arrangement requires meticulous care, and the gold leaf is so expensive as to make it prohibitive for commercial use on bottles. In cases where the so-called brightening pigment is used, the seal still looks dull and dead.

The present invention, however, overcomes all the inherent disadvantages heretofore employed, and produces a seal which has extremely bright and shiny coloring at a very nominal low cost. The seal has printing thereon with a background applied to a container under the seal in an area covered by a part of the seal for displaying, labeling, and decorating the bottle neck or other item. A wide range of contrasting colored inks may be used on the seal together with a variety of colors and effects which are obtainable by the use of such backgrounds as metal foil, glass, paints, papers, plastics, or any other suitable material. For example, the seals may be made from transparent clear material, or a combination of pigmented and clear film, and have the printing either in reversed design so that the printed design on the lettering will show through in the color, whatever background was used, or it may be obtained by direct printing on transparent clear seals whereby the background colors would form a border for the printing,

The seal of the present invention not only maintains the cork, or closure, in sealed condition, but also prints in overall reverse and then applies the printed seal over a metallic appearing sheet of foil, foil-paper or other highly bright material in contact with the bottle neck and underneath the band so that the clear lettering on.

the reverse printed part of the seal will show through the transparent lettering, design or other indicia.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of newand decorative means to simulate the the appearance of bright shiny gold, silver and the like, a

printed directly on the exterior surface of the seal.

A further object of the invention consists in the provision of new and improved method to simulate bright shiny lettering on a seal which consists in applying a sheet of foil or foil-like material against the neck of a bottle (particularly between the spaces where the Government stamp is applied) so that the clear printing on a reversely printed seal will show through the seal and simulate direct printing on the exterior surface of the seal. 1

Numerous other objects and advantages will be apparent throughout the progress of the specification which is to follow.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a certain selected embodiment of the invention, and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. l is a detail elevational view of the neck of a bottle to which the invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a detail expanded view of the improved seal, showing reverse printing on a side thereof.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the seal in the form of aband, and showing the same reverse printing prior to being expanded for application about the neck of a bottle.

Fig. 4- is a detail perspective view of a strip or sheet of bright material, such as metal foil, paper foil and the like, which overlies the bottle and underlies the seal.

Fig; 5 is the detail transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1. r

Fig. 6 is the detail transverse sectional view on the line 66 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a detail longitudinal sectional view through,

Fa tented Dec. 9, 1958 I cose. The seal 'is not only to decorate the neck of the bottle, but'al'so'to'assist in sealing the bottle'closure cap or cork 3 so that should any tampering be done, it would be apparent by the breakage of the seal.

The seal 11 "is reversely printed on asurfacethereof,

as indicated at- 4, Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and includes a design Sandlettering 6, 6 showing through in clear form. The reversely printed part 4 can be any suitable color, while the design 5 and lettering 6 is clear. The reversely printed part 4 is' such that normallyit will be defined between the vertical border lines 7, 7, Fig. 3. The width of the'printed part normally will not-exceed the space between the opposed side edges of a Government or Internal Revenue stamp 8." The part 9'of the seal, at the rear of the bottle neck. may also be clear, although it may be opaque, if desired, or it may be also reversely printedsimilar to the reversely printed part 4 on the front. Thepart 9, if "opaque, would normally be defined by'vertical edges '10, 10, whereby the space betweenthevertical edges 10 and 7 would be left clear, as indicated in 11, Figs. 1 and 2, so as to show the Government stamp 8 therethrough.

Inasmuchas the contents of the bottle is usually dark, or relatively so, there would be no sharp contrast between the reversely printed portion. 4 and the clear design 5'or lettering 6, particularlywhere the seal or band itself is dyed or printed in darker tones. Also, in cases where the liquid is of a dark amber color, and should the printed part 4 of the seal be of a brown or amber color, there would be no contrast; and the design and the printing would not be seen readily, or at least not be easily observed. It is, therefore, desirable, that regardless of the color that the part 4 may have, the indicia 5 and 6'should stand out sharply. The sharp clear design and lettering is accomplishedby providing a piece of bright shiny foil, or foil-like material, arranged between the bottle neck and the seal so as to show the indicia clearly and brightly. Therefore, the invention contemplates the application of a sheet of bright colored material, such'as foil, whether it be metal foil or paper foil or'other bright and shiny material 13, Fig. 4.

The size of the sheet or underlay material 13 is of a width substantially equal to the distance between the vertical edges 7, 7 so that when it is arranged in place, it will not cover the Government seal. It is not necessary, however, that the side edges of the material 13 be equal to the space between the lines 7, 7 but it should be positioned so that the underlying sheet '13 is of sufficient width to underly all the lettering 6 and design 5 on the printed part 4 of the seal 1. The vertical length of the material 13 may extend'from a point adjacent thetop edge ofthe bottle to a point low enough not to extend beyond 'the'bottom of the seal 1. The length of the material 13, therefore, need be no longer than a distance slightly above the design 5, Fig. 3, as indicated at 14, nor below the bottom edge of the lower lettering 6, as indicated at 15, Fig. 3.

Thematerial 13 may have an" adhesive applied to its inner surface 16, Fig. 4, and this adhesive surface may be stuck to the outer surface of the bottle at a point between the vertical defining lines 7, 7. Therefore, when the seal 1 is applied over the neck 2 of the bottle, the Government stamp 8 will show through the clear part between the lines 7 and 10, and the clear designS and lettering 6 will show through the inked part 4. The

clear indicia 5 and 6 will show up bright and shiny in contrast to the printed puart 4 because the material 13 will show therethrough, and thereby simulate pure gold, or silver or other like colored lettering and designs thereon, giving an appearance that the indicia is pure gold or other color, such as silver, printed directly on the outer surface of the seal.

Gold and. silver are thehardest colors to simulate, therefore, it has been found that the application of a foil, or foil-like material, having a real bright shiny surface will show through the clear design and lettering portion of the reversely printed part of the seal, and give an extremely highly ornamental appearance to the neck of the bottle, with full, clear, bright and shiny lettering or designs, or both.

The invention, therefore, provides for the positioning of a sheet of bright shiny material underneath the printed part ofthe seal, and between the vertical side edges of the Government stamp so as to produce clear bright shiny contrasting lettering through that part of the seal having the lettering and design on the reversely printed seal, making the seal highly attractive and ornamental, with indicia which is readily visible.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts, and the method may be varied within certainlimits, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is hereby made to make all such changes as fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. The method of simulating or depicting highly bright, shiny glossy lettering on a surface of a shrinkable seal, such as a band having a clear transparent part, which consists in applying a sheet of bright shiny material onto the bottle neck between the adjacent marginal edges of the stamp on oneside of the bottle neck, reversely printing a part of the seal on at least one side of the seal to define clear transparent indicia, applying said seal over the bottle neck'with the indicia arranged over the shiny material so that all the clear transparent indicia of the seal will show the shiny, glossy bright material therethrough.

2. In combination with a bottle having a neck and a closurethereon, a stamp extending upwardly along one side of the neck across the top of the closure and downwardly along the opposite side of the neck, a shrinkable open-ended tubular seal arranged over the neck and closure, said seal having a clear transparent portion at each-side thereof overlying said stamp and having reverse printing thereon between the top and bottom edges of the seal and'on at least'one side of theseal between the clear transparent portions, said reverse printing defining clear transparent indicia, such as designs and lettering, and a-sheet' of bright shiny foil material arranged on the' neck between the adjacent vertical edges of the stamp and behind the reversely printed portion of the seal so that the clear indicia will show the foil material therethrough and thus simulate brightshiny indicia on the'bottle neck.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,071,976 Hanson Feb. 23, 1937 2,141,744 Evans Dec. 27, 1938 2,151,508 Glensky Mar. 21, 1939 

